Myth-busting facts and

figures about refugees and

asylum seekers
• MYTH: “ ‘Bogus’
asylum seekers
abusing the system.”
Many asylum seekers who are initially
refused refugee status go on to win
their appeals, reflecting the poor
quality of initial decision making at the
Home Office. Amnesty International’s
February 2004 report revealed Home
Office asylum decisions are based on
‘inaccurate and out-of-date country
information’, ‘unreasoned decisions
about people’s credibility’ and ‘a
failure to properly consider complex
torture cases’.
Government figures show that the
Home Office got the initial decision
wrong in nearly 10,845 asylum cases
in the last reported calendar year
(2004), meaning around 1 in 5 cases
are overturned after costly appeals.
This figure rises to nearly 4 in 10 from coming here. The Immigration
cases from Somalia, Eritrea and
Sudan, 1 in 3 for Ethiopian cases and
and Asylum Act 1999 extends
‘carrier’s liability’ legislation to
• MYTH: “Many
1 in 4 for asylum applications from the cover all road vehicles, air transpor t, asylum seekers are
‘illegal’.”
former Yugoslavia. shipping and international railway
In 2004 nearly 4,615 Iraqis were ser vices whereby carriers are
refused refugee status or ‘exceptional fined £2000 for each passenger
leave to remain’ out of 4,815 brought to Britain without valid travel By definition there is no such thing as
applicants. 93% of cases were again documentation. an ‘illegal asylum seeker’. Britain signed
rejected on appeal. the 1951 Convention on Refugees,
For many, a false document is the which codifies in law that anyone has
only means of escape. Such documents
make them appear to be making • MYTH: “Most the right to apply for asylum in Britain
and remain until a final decision on their
an unfounded application, however, asylum seekers application has been made.
governments often refuse to issue The Press Complaints Commission
passports to known political dissidents, actually come from has issued guidance to journalists
or imprison them when they apply. In
such cases refugees have no choice safe countries.” following complaints stating that the
term ‘illegal asylum seeker’ breaches
but to resort to illegal means, such as its code of practice as it leads to
using false travel documents, in order Civil unrest, war or instability has ‘misleading or distorted terminology.
to escape. Nonetheless, the Asylum been documented in the main (Guardian 23 October 2003)
and Immigration Act 2004 criminalises countries from which those claiming The fact that an asylum seeker
those who without documentation asylum have fled. Most refugees in may have entered the country illegally
and punishes them with up to 2 years recent years have come from Iran, does not mean his or her case lacks
imprisonment. Somalia, Zimbabwe, Pakistan, Iraq credibility. It is virtually impossible for
In addition, Britain has had and the Congo – countries in conflict people fleeing persecution to reach
restrictive measures in place for or with a histor y of grave human Britain without resorting to the use of
some time in order to deter refugees rights abuses. false documents.

• MYTH: “Britain is a
soft touch for asylum
seekers.”
The idea that Britain or any other
European country is a ‘soft touch’ is
simply not true.
On the contrary, as European
countries introduce increasingly tough
immigration controls, it has become
extremely difficult to gain entry to
Europe in the first place. The sealing
of the Channel Tunnel and the closure
of Sangatte have decreased numbers
entering this country.
In 2004, out of the 55,390 total
initial decisions, 2,160 people (4%)
were granted asylum (before appeal),
4,195 (8%) were granted discretionary
leave to remain or humanitarian
protection and 49,040 (89%) were
refused asylum.
Welfare provision for asylum seekers
in Britain is far from generous. They
receive payment which is one third
less than basic income support. This
amounts to less than £39.34 per week
– 30% below the poverty line. They are
not allowed to work, even though they
are very keen to seek employment.
Washing machines, TVs or videos
are not provided, contrary to the lies
peddled in sections of the tabloid media.
Asylum seekers are housed in “hard-
to-let” properties that no one wants in
the least popular estates in areas with
multiple social problems, or are farmed
out to privately rented flats which are
often in sub-standard condition.
Many asylum seekers prefer to
come to Britain because of family
ties, the existence of established
communities of their own nationality
or ethnic origin or because they have
a knowledge of English. These are all
legitimate reasons for wanting to claim
asylum in this country.
A joint study by Oxfam and the
Refugee Council shows that the
asylum system in Britain, far from
being a ‘soft touch’, institutionalises
poverty. The report looked at 40
organisations that work with asylum
seekers and refugees, and revealed
that of those with whom they have
contact, 85% of this group experience
hunger, 95% cannot afford to buy
clothes or shoes and 80% are
not able to maintain good health.
Asylum seekers are one of the most
vulnerable groups of people to such
abuse. The cockle pickers who died
in Morecambe Bay included asylum
seekers, who were targeted by illegal
gangmasters, because they were
unable to find legal, safe work.
On their arrival, asylum seekers
have to fill in a 19-page legal document
in English (the Statement of Evidence
Form) and send it to the Home Office
in time (often within 10 days), together
with supporting documents. A large
number of refugees’ applications
(4,510 in 2004) are rejected on the
grounds of ‘non compliance’, i.e.
failing to comply with this rule. New
restrictions on legal aid will mean that
asylum seekers will not have adequate
support to help them apply successfully.
This has serious ramifications on
creating ‘failed applicants’.
• MYTH: “Britain is
in danger of being
‘swamped’ by huge
numbers of refugees
and asylum seekers.”
Britain hosts less than 3.2% of the
world’s refugees and asylum seekers.
There are about 9 million refugees
around the world, the majority of whom
are living in less developed countries.
The developing countries provide
asylum to 74.3% of the global refugee
population, leaving the wealthier
countries to help just 25.7%.
Asylum applicants fell from
61,050 in 2003 to 33,960 in 2004,
representing less than 0.1% of the
population. (Source: Home Office
asylum figures 2004. NB: Britain’s
population is 58 million.)
Britain ranks only 18th among
50 industrialised countries in the
world when comparing the numbers
of asylum seekers to the population
of the host country. Austria has 18.2
asylum applications in every 1000
The UN is right in that richer
countries like the UK are
simply not pulling their weight
when it comes to looking
after people who are forced
to flee their homelands. The
vast majority of refugees find
help in developing countries,
not the west, so we should be
doing a lot more.’
Maeve Sherlock, Chief Executive,
Refugee Council
(Guardian 19 April 2006)
Refugee numbers per region at
1 January 2005
Asia 3,471,000 37.5% of
world’s
refugees
Africa 3,023,000 32.7%
Europe 2,068,000 22.4%
North America 562,000 6.08%
Oceania 76,000 0.82%
Latin America & 36,000 0.4%
the Caribbean
Total 9,236,000
(Source: The State of the World’s Refugees,
Human Displacement in the New Millennium,
The Office of the UNHCR, 2006)
people whilst Britain has 5.5 in every
1000. Britain with its average GDP per
capita of £15,450, hosts about 4.8
refugees per 1,000 inhabitants while
Kenya hosts over 7 refugees per 1,000
inhabitants and has an average GDP
per capita of £600. (Source: UNHCR
website, Asylum Levels and Trends in
Industrialised Countries 2005).
• MYTH: “Refugees
are a threat to the
British way of life
and to our national
identity.”
Refugees and immigrants enrich British
economy, science, society and culture.
• 17 Nobel Laureates, 71 Fellows
or Foreign Members of the
Royal Society and 50 Fellows or
corresponding Fellows of the British
Academy are refugees.
• Fish and chips was brought to
Britain by l7th century Jews
expelled from Portugal.
• 30,000 jobs created in Leicester
by Ugandan Asian refugees who
settled in the city in the 1970s
• Peter Paduh, a refugee from the
Balkans who set up the compute
recycling firm Maxitech is the
winner of the 2005 Young Business
Person in London award
• Some of the most famous names
in British art – Joseph Conrad
(writer), Anish Kapoor (artist), Mona
Hatoum (artist), Alec Issigonis
(designer of the Mini)
• Some of the most famous names
in media and entertainment
– Rachel Weisz (actor), Omid Djalili

“The danger in the current
international context is that
states will use the issue of
terrorism to legitimise the
introduction of restrictive
asylum practices and refugee
policies, a process which
began well before the events
of September 11 2001. This
has led to a tendency to
criminalise migrants, including
asylum seekers, by associating
them with people smugglers
and traffickers... the rise of
xenophobia and fear of asylum
seekers in many countries...
has led to a tendency to see
refugees not as victims but as
perpetrators of insecurity.”
(From the State of the World’s
Refugees, UNHCR, 2006)
(comedian and actor), Ben Elton
(comedian and writer), Alan Yentob
(BBC Creative director), Yasmin
Alibhai-Brown (journalist) – all
refugees or children of refugees
• 1,500 refugee teachers across
Britain, including some of the
most renowned educators – Prof.
Wole Soyinka (visiting professor at
Cambridge and Sheffield), Sir Karl
Popper (teacher of Philosophy at LSE)
• British Medical Association has
1,073 refugee and asylum seeking
doctors on its database
• 11 British Nobel prize winners
for science were all refugees or
children of refugees
(Source: www.refugeeweek.org.uk)
• MYTH: “Asylum
seekers are costing
the taxpayer a
fortune.”
Section 9 of the Immigration and
Asylum (Treatment of Claimants etc)
Act 2004 allows the Home Office to
withdraw support from asylum seeking
families with children whose claim
has failed and who are considered
not to be taking “reasonable steps”
to return to their country of origin.
As a consequence of these policies,
families have been left destitute. It
is the chaos created by draconian
policies which is inflicting misery
on asylum seekers and costing
the taxpayer. In 2005, Section 9
was criticised by the Children’s
Commissioner for England and Wales,
the British Association of Social
Workers and many others. The pilot
policy is ongoing at the time of writing
but the government has included
a clause enabling its repeal in the
current Immigration, Asylum and
Nationality Bill, which is completing its
final stages in Parliament.
• MYTH: “Migrant
workers are ‘benefit
shoppers’.”
The Home Secretary has praised migrant
workers who make a “disproportionate”
contribution to the economy, paying
£2.5bn more in tax each year than they part of Europe, the government
take out in services. imposed a worker registration scheme
Total revenue generated by within one month of starting work, in
migrants grew in real terms from order to gain access to benefits and
£33.8 billion in 1999-00 to £41.2 health care. Citizens of the other EU
billion in 2003-04. This 22 per cent countries do not have to do this.
increase compares favourably to A report by the European
the 6 per cent increase for the UK- Commission found that Eastern
born. (Source: IPPR fact file: Paying European workers boosted economic
their way: the fiscal contribution of growth. The presence of so many
immigrants in the UK. April 2005) workers on relatively low wages has also
The TUC published research helped keep mortgage rates low, acting
“Propping up rural and small town as a deflationary pressure, helping the
Britain: Migrant workers from the new Bank of England keep interest rates
Europe” (November 2004) shows down. (Guardian 9 February 2006)
that workers from the new Eastern The Home Office’s own research
European accession states are confirms that refugees’ talents
working in industries and services are under-used in Britain. Some
such as food processing, hospitality of Britain’s most successful
and agriculture that are experiencing entrepreneurs are refugees.
major problems filling job vacancies, When countries are ranked on the
and which tend to be based away from basis of comparing national wealth to
urban areas. The research also found
that these workers are subjected to
the number of asylum seekers they
support, Britain comes 78th in the
illegal charges for being found work, of world and 6th in Europe. That means
being paid less than British workers, there are 77 countries, among them
and of non-payment for hours worked some of the poorest in the world, that
and excessive working days and poor,
substandard accommodation which is
spend proportionately more of their
national wealth on supporting asylum
often linked to the job provided. seekers than we do in Britain. These
In June 2006, Immigration Minister include Kenya and the Congo.
Liam Byrne said the government was
seeking a report into the possibility
of an amnesty for ‘illegal’ migrants,
although there are no specific plans • MYTH: “Asylum
for an amnesty at the time of writing. seeker children
Offering amnesty to London’s illegal
workers would rake in an extra £1billion are swamping our
net in taxes to spend on public services.
(Source: IPPR fact file: Irregular schools.”
Migration in the UK. March 2006).
Due to the political furore whipped An OFSTED report found that asylum
up around new eastern European seeker children are often ‘embraced’
migrants as these countries became by schools that see them as an asset
rather than a problem. It found that
problems were often compounded
by inaccurate information from the
Home Office, immigration services
and other agencies about the families
concerned. Teachers believed these
children represented opportunities to
‘enrich the cultural life of the school’.
• MYTH: “Asylum
seekers don’t want to
work.”
Many seekers have left behind
businesses or skilled jobs in their
care assistants, do casual work on
their farms, drive mini-cabs, or deliver
pizzas.
In addition, Britain’s low birth-rate
of 1.77 means that this country will
need to import migrants simply to
keep its working-age population stable
between now and 2050 and to ensure
the increasing number of pensions can
be financed for our ageing population.
National Statistics figures for 2004
show that 582,000 people migrated
to Britain while over half that number,
360,000 Britons emigrated.
• MYTH: “Asylum
British National Party, which more
than doubled their council seats to
48. (For an interesting article by
Juliet Lyon from the Prison Reform
Trust on this subject, visit http://
www.guardian.co.uk/comment/
story/0,,1761983,00.html)
• MYTH: “Refugees
are able to apply for
asylum in Britain
from abroad.”
Refugees are people who have been

seekers are linked to

home country and are keen to start
work and earn. Applicants are not
allowed to work in Britain until they are
granted refugee status or exceptional
leave to remain. This is a complete
waste of their human resources and
skills that they are able and willing to
put to use in this country.
• MYTH: “Once
asylum seekers
enter Britain they
never want to go
back to their country
of origin.”
Refugees go back to their country
once the reasons that forced them to
flee no longer exist. For example, most
South Africans and Chileans who fled
to Britain returned when it was safe for
them to do so.
criminal gangs.”
Statistics show there has been no
refugee crime wave and that there is
no established connection between
asylum and increased crime rates. In
fact, asylum seekers are less likely
to commit major crimes than British
citizens because doing so would affect
their asylum application. According to
a report published by the Association
of Chief Police Officers, refugees are
more likely to become victims of crime.
There has been a marked increase in
racist attacks as a result of the hostile
publicity around asylum seekers. When
they are victims of physical or verbal
abuse it is rarely reported in the press.
The media furore about the foreign
national prisoners in the run up to
the 2006 local elections played a
role in the advances made by the
Make an anti-racist pledge today:
forced to flee their homes due to
human rights abuses. It is impossible
for them to apply for asylum while they
remain in their home countries for fear
of reprisals, leaving them no choice as
to where they can make their claim.
Many asylum seekers who overcome
the odds to reach this country have
suffered extensive physical and mental
trauma in their own countries. They
are prepared to give their life savings
to agents and to suffer dreadful and
often dangerous conditions on the
journey in order to escape persecution
or death in their own countries. Why
would they not deserve Britain’s
assistance?
For more information, contacts for
other useful organisations, to invite a
speaker on this issue to your branch,
and to download the full pack, please
visit www.naar.org.uk, email info@naar.
org.uk, or ring 020 7247 9907.
*OIN.!!2TODAY

Join NAAR
4IMETO
• MYTH: “Refugees UNITE
AGAINST
increase RACISM
unemployment
The National Assembly Against Racism campaigns
against racism in all its manifestations. With
and take jobs away national black organisations playing a leading role – in alliance with the Jewish and
Muslim communities, the trade unions, the student movement, religious groups and
from ‘real’ British many others, NAAR has set about building a mass anti-racist movement uniting all

citizens.”
those who believe racism must be fought and not appeased.

Britain’s working population is
declining, while its population’s
aspirations to do only clean,
sedentary, well paid jobs are rising.
Often it is foreigners who perform
the arduous and low-paid jobs in
cleaning or catering, who work as
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